Grease gun



Aug. 18, 1925.

A. M. KRUGER GREASE GUN INVENTOR ALBERT GRANGE, NEVZFJEESFJ.

GUN.

Application filed September 1, 1922. Serial No. 585,792. c

To all whom it iim concern:

Be it known that l, .[insnnr M. IQKUGER, a citizen of the United residing in in the county of Essex and State of Ne Y Jersey, have invented a new and useful Grease Gun, of which the following is a specification.

Mv invention relates to an apparatus dee .L .L

tainer to another, to transfer he substance from bull: to a receptacle where the said substance is desired to perform a useful purpose. A specific use of such an apparatus consists in the transferring of grease from bull: containers to machinery and to receptacles on machinery where grease is a desirable l...,;icant. Hence I designate the apparatus described in this specification by the name of grease gun.

My invention relates particularly to that style of grease gun appartus'in which the substance to be transferred is introduced into the apparatus by suitable manipulation of ti instrument itself. without direct contact or tiie grease on the fingers and without the use of a spooin ladle paddle or other means not forming part of the apparatus. My invention also relates to a type of this apparatus in which the material to he transferred is readily eiected from said apparatus by manipulation of the instrument by neans ot the handle or handles provided or the purpose. li ly invention further relates to a type of the appartus referred to in which handies are provided by which to manipulate the instrument effectively and correctly with a firm grasp of the hands and by "means of which to prevent the substance being transferred from coming in contact with and soiling the hands when the apparatus is being used.

The apparatus that I have invented can be used to advantage with various'substances that are of a soft consistency, like paste or grease. Such uses for substances other than grease are obvious, and tor the sake of clearness, I confine the specification that follows to terms of grease and grease handling.

I am aware that contrivances'have heretofore been produced designed to transfer grease from bulk containers to other desired locations" T he principle on which 1 base my invention is diiiier'ent from those employed in previous attempts. instrument's heretofore devised to produce the results obtained by the grease gun that I have invented (as.

ed to transfer substances from one conthe ob ect usually being ClcdQi'lieGd in the present specification) have tempted to make use of the principles by nich a pump operates. In these attempts v oti rs a cylinder has been used with an iio'htpiston within the cylinder. By

' the orifice at one end of the cylinin a mass of grease and withdrawing piston towards the other end of the cylit was supposed that a more or less the , r and that grease would be drawn into the cylinder to fill this vacuum. Such an action takes place when working with a 'd, but grease as ordinarily understood, at temperatures at which it is ordinarily m ies not flow like a liquid. The atmosp :l'lC pressure on the surface of a quantity or grease is not suliicient to overcome its dency to retain its form. In practice no sociable quant ty of grease does fiow of such an apparatuswhere nciple oi the pump is sought to be in order to nsesuch an apparatus at placing grease in some desired location as on a machine. it is first necessary to he instrument with grease by external o: with a putty knife ladle spoon or 'itiilar external contrivanee independent of the instrument. The instrument is th refore of little advan in applying crease to some desired loca on, since this o 1 be done readily directly, without the 'nterrention of the instrument and by the "511116 means that would have to be used for illing the instrument. The grease gun that I have invented picks up the grease by a simple manipulation ot the instrument itself and thus constitutes a quick and clean contrivance for the purpose for which it is intended.

My invention operates on the principle or" mechanically cutting a portion of grease when the operatively open end of the appavaciuun would be formed within the I .6 is by pushing in the grease with ratus is inserted in a mass of the grease, and I 2 manipulating the The objects of my invention are (1) to provide an instrument for transferring grease from a receptacle to some desired point of application, said instrument capable of receiving its charge by the manipulation of the instrument, and without the use of external filling means, such as the fingers, spoons, ladles, paddles or the like; this filling being automatic and self-filling in the sense that these terms are used for example in the case ot a self-filling fountain pen; (2) To provide in such an instrument means whereby a substantial and predetermined quantity of grease may be charged intothe instrument, and discharged through as small an orifice as may be re quired when filling a receptacle having an opening of limited size. To provide in such an instrument an arrangement where by a practically complete discharge is obtained by manipulation of the instrun'ient, without the assistance of external means to scrape or wipe off the charge o'i that is being ejected. (*1) To provide in such an instrument means by which to hold the instrument firmly in order to manipulate the instrument and its parts easily and correctly, and whereby to keep grease from coming in contact with the hands when instrument.

I attain these objects by the arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section on Fig. 2 through the instrument along a plane near its axis. as indicated by the line Figure 2 is a longitudinal section throu the instrument along a plane A A r in angles to the plane of the section shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an end view of the orifice end of the instrument.

The part marked 2 is a tube of relati small diameter. Around and concern; with tube 2 is the larger tube 1. upper end of the tube 1 closed by th cap 6. the latter f; tencd to the t he 1 ain'l free to slide lengthwise on 2. Near v the tube the lower end of tube 2 there is attached o the outside of tube 9 an annular piston which is free to slide snugly within the tube 1. A piston 4t slides inside of the tube 2 and piston 1- is moved by means of the handl 3. A plug 7 closes the upper end of tube 2 and' serves as a guide -or the piston handle 3-. l he handle 8 is attached to the cap 6 on tube 1;. and thereby operatively attached to tube 1. An air vent 9' is located in the tube 2 nea-r'its .pper end. A ve 10 is fastened across at or near the lower. operatively ODQ11 CI1l of tube 2. Other wires 11 are similarly fastener. across the lower. op erativcly open end of tube 1. The is er, cutting edges 02" the operati-vely cpen ends of? the tubes'2 and 1' areindicated at 12 ant 13} respectively. The lower or pushing side of the piston is indicated at 14;. The lower rue charge of grease. flow insorti' the lower end of the instrument 1n a n ..s of

grease, the tube 1, by means oi? its lower annular edge 13, cuts into the grease and allows the grease to enter within tube 1 in the form of a cylindrical plug equal. in diameter to the inner diameter of tube 1. Tube 1 is of an appreciable diameter and theretor oilers little interior friction to the passage of the grease entering it. By lzeeping the length oi tube 1 suiiiciently short in comparison w th its diameter, I am, in this manner able to fill tube 1 with grease up to the lower surface of the piston 5, piston 5 meanwhile being up as far as possi le and toiuiiiug cap 6. For ori'linary purp ses in the comparativol soft materials for which the instrument is designed, the cutting edges need not be sharpened, he usual thickness 0t suitable tubing beingthin enough to serve as a cutting edge. The ion is the same as that of a cir-c n knits or chisel.

The nefit step in operating the instrument is to force tube 2 with its attached piston 5 down into the grease. This is done by press' in; with the hand on the knob 7, the instrument and particularly the tube 1 meanwhile being held steady by means of the lu udle 9. "While forcing piston 5 down on the grease plug contained within tube 1, I hold the lower edge 13 ot tube 1. by means ot handle. firmly against the flat bottom ofthe can or other object containing the e to be transtcrred. By so doing tube 1 is u'actically closed at its lower end 13, and the downward movement of tube 2 with its a ached piston 5 torc'es the grease from within tube 1 into tube 2'. The lower en'd'1-3 ou tube 1 lies in a plane, and practically normal to the axis of tube 1. making it possible to obtain an operatively tight contact o the entire edge 13 against the nlane surface usually "Forming the bottom of a grease container.

The grease gun is now ready to be removed from the container which holds the bulk of grease. To do this first press down on knob '7. holding thereby the lower end 0: tube against the bottom of bulk grease container. iletct with the other hand hold inc handle l raiset'ube 1 till the wires 11 str a; 1111813 the lower side of piston I then tube 1 a twisting motion about its longitudinal axis, still holding the tube 2 and piston 5 stationary by means of the knob 7. This causes the wires 11 to cut or scrape away grease attached to the lower face 15 of the piston 5, permitting the grease gun to be withdrawnirom the can of grease quite free from particles of grease. It the bulk grease in the grease can "is not high enough to reach up to the under surface of piston so that the inside of tube 1 is not well filled with grease after one insertion into the bulk grease as above described, a twisting and upward movement of the tube 1 by means of handle 8, causes the wires 11 to cut oft the plug of grease already contained within tube 1. Then the instrument can be withdrawn from the bulk grease with the quantity of grease already held in the instrument, because of the adhesion of the grease within tube 1 and the obstruction ofiered by wires 11 to the grease dropping out. One or two repetitions of inserting into the grease in this manner will fill the inside of tube 1 to the desired amount.

Tube 2 also has a wire 10 across its operatively open end to aid in cutting off the (iii grease containedin tube 2 from the bulk of grease remaining in the bull: grease container. This is accomplished by giving tube 2 a twisting movement about its axis where by the wire 10 acts as a cutter severing the bottom of the plug of grease in tube 2 from the grease remaining below tube 2 in the bull; grease container. If the tube 2 is of quite small diameter, the adhesion of the grease within tube 2 is sufficient to hold most of the grease contents of tube 2 without dropping out of it when the instrument is withdrawn "from the bulk grease. In this event the function of the wire 10 isto sever the grease within tube 2 from the grease without said tube as above stated, and in addition to assist in retaining that portion of the grease near the operatively open end of tube 2.

The wires 11 are placed as close together as possible and still avoid striking the sides of that portion of the tube 2'which projects below the surface of piston 15. By lying as close as possible to the tube 2 when in contact with surface 15 of piston 5, the wires 11 serve best to clean ofi superfluous grease from piston 5, when the tube 1 and the wires 11 are rotated around the axis of said tubes, the rest of the instrument meanwhile being held stationary.

In order to keep the air within the tubes from oitering resistance to the easy entrance of the grease, I providean air vent 9 near the upper part of the instrument. The discharging end 12 of the inner tube 2 is arranged to project outside, beyond the plane of the operatively open end 13 of the tube 1, when piston is pressed down completely to the point where surface '15 touches the wires 11. This makes it possible to insert the discharging end 12 of the small tube 2 into a correspondingly small opening in the receptacle t6 be filled with grease.

The instrument is discharged by pushing the piston 4, by means of handle 3, lengthwise within tube 2 till the lower surface 1 1 iston 41 touches the wire 10. Then givmg the piston 4t a twist around its axis by means of its handle 3, while the surface 14L is in contact with the wire 10, the grease finally adhering to piston 4c is cut or scraped of? said piston 1 so as to drop away readily and practically clean from the instrument. To further facilitate complete discharge,the operatively open end 12 of the tube 2 is out awayin portions, leaving only a'few small and insignificant points of contact and adhesion between the grease that is discharge ing and the inside of tube 2 when the face 14 of piston 4 lies in contact with the wire 10.

The piston faces 14 and 15 are best made plane and at right angles to the axis of the instrument so as to remain in contact with the wires and 11 respectively during rotation of the piston faces against said wires. For the same reason the wires 10 and 11 are secured within their respective tubes in planes normal to the axes of the tubes.

By means of the annular cutting; edges and 12 of the tubes 1 and re ctively forming longitudinal grease cutiers, the wires 10 and 11 forming transverse grease cutters, the tubes 1 and 2, and the pistons e: and 5,7said tubes. cutters and pistons operated by the above described manipulation of the instrument, I attain the first object of my invention. r

T attain the second object of my invention by placing around the discharging tube 2 the large tube 1 to term a prelin jry resen voir for imprisoning a substantial quantity or" grease, then to be forced by means of the piston 5 into the inner tube whence final discharge takes place. By using this combination of tubes, each ihmctioning similarly and in conjunction in receiving grease at their operatively open ends, I obtain an improvement in operation over whatis possible with a single tube when the tube from. which the grease is discharged is of a diameter as small as usually desired in practice, for the purpose'ot injecting grease into a small aperture. 1

By means of the wires 10 and 11, aided by the form of the inner tubes discharging end 12, said wires acting as scrapers on the piston faces 14 and respectively, removing the grease from said piston surfaces when the instrument is manipulated as above described, T attain the third object of my invention.

I attach handle 3 to the end or the piston rod of piston 4:, and another handle 8 to the tube 1. These handles being a suitable distance from the lowerend ot the instrument where more or less grease collects, the hands ltlt) i also serves as a handle for holding and operating the instriu'neut as above described, and knob 7 also being at a distance from the grease-touching lower end of the i ruinent. provides means jl or manipulation without soiling the hands. L lv nzeans of these haudles I attain the fourth object o'l my inven tion.

I claim:

1. In a grease gun, the combination with a charging tube having a lower open end of a receiving an( discharging tube of reduced diaineter axially alined with and slidable through said charging tube, said receiving and discharging tube having adjacent to its lower end an annular piston to it and reciprocate within said charging tube, and a discharging piston arranged to reciprocate in said receiving and discharging tube.

2. In a grease gun. the combination with a charging tube having a lower open end providing a cutting edge of a receiving and discharging tube or reduced diameter having a lower open end portion aliucd with audsli-dable through said charging tube, said receiving and discharging tube having adia cent to its lower open extremity an annular piston to fit and reciprocate within said charging tube, handle ineniber attached to said charging tube to manipulate the same, and a discharging piston arranged to reciprocate in said receiving and discharging tube, said receiving and discharging tube having an air vent in its Wall disposed be low the normal raised piston of said-:discharging piston.

3. In a grease gun, the combination with charging tube having a lower open end providing a cutting edge of a receiving and are thus liept clean troin grease. The knob discharging tube of reduced diameter having a lower openend portion alined with and slidable through said charging tube, said charging tube being also free to turn on its longitudinal axis said receiving and discharging tube having adjacent to its lower open er-rtren'iitv an annular piston to lit and reciprocate within said charging tube, said charging tube having adjacent to its lcwer open end transverse cutting means, a handle nieinber attached to said charging tube to manipulate the same, and a discharging piston arranged to reciprocate in said receivingand discharging tube, said receiving and discharging tube having an air vent in its wall disposed below the normal raised osition of said discharging piston, and the lower open end ot' saio receiving and discharging tube also having arranged therewith a trai'zsverse cutting means.

3:. In a grease gun, the combination with a tubular barrel having a lower open end (it means with which said barrel is slidablv rclated i or confining the grease about the open end of said barrel, said barrel having an external piston element reciprocable in said confining means For forcing the confined grease into the lower open end of said barrel, said con-lining means having a lower open end providing an annular cutting edge, transverse cutting wires adjacent to the open end of said confining means, and a discharging piston reciprocable in said barrel, said barrel havingan air vent in its wall disposed below the norinal raised position of said discharging piston, and the lower open end of said barrel also having a transverse cutting wire.

ALBERT M. KRUGE R. 

